Opus Dei

For Christians, the value of sacrifice is hidden in a meek and humble desire to be associated with Jesus' suffering in his Passion, and to free the heart from all that shackles it, aspiring to a lighter, brighter, freer life.

The reason Christians are willing to go against their desires, fast, and make sacrifices for others; the reason they are able to bear suffering with joy, without making too much of it, is that they do not want to leave the Lord alone with the weight of the world’s evil and suffering.

In "The Way of the Cross," St. Josemaria provides meditations for each of the stations of the Via Crucis, a devotion much cherished by the Church. These meditations are especially suited to help find paths to holiness in the ordinary circumstances of everyday life.

In a get-together in southern Spain in 1993, Bishop Alvaro del Portillo speaks abut the meaning of suffering and illness, which are a true "vocation to the Cross."

Rodolfo and Lucia suffered the loss of their small son. How can people see God’s hand in events like that? St Josemaria replies to someone in a similar situation, who asked him how to bear suffering with joy.